Life's Affairs
by Sigyn Carlton
Summary: (or "Fondue?") - Tony's right hand left the steering wheel and he placed it over Steve's. "We are celebrating life, Captain." - WARNINGS: Slash, Mention of Maria Stark, Fluff & Angst. One Shot. Not Beta Read.


_So I wrote this for a friend's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRIYA!) who's a huge Steve/Tony shipper; if you're interest, you can fins her works on ao3 under the pen-name "royswordsman"._

_This is not Beta read and here's to hoping that there aren't too many grammar mistakes and things like that._

**Contains:**_ Slash, Fluff and Angst, Mentions of Maria Stark._

* * *

**Life's affairs  
**(Fondue?)

Anthony Edward Stark.

It was quite obvious that the billionaire _slash_ playboy _slash_ philanthropist _slash_ genius, son of Howard Stark wouldn't be winning the prize of model citizen of the year (not this year or any other for that matter) or anything slightly like that, but he couldn't help but feel like he was the happiest man to walk on Earth.

If he was to be honest –very honest–, Tony had never truly believed he would ever be _that_ kind of guy. The kind of guy that would ever see himself living with just one person for the rest of his life. The kind of guy that would ever find someone so unique and special that would make him drop his old habits and settle down; someone that was so special that he'd wish them to be the last thing he'd see before he fell asleep and the first thing he'd see when he woke up. Tony Stark never, not for one day in his entire life, believed he would be the kind of guy that would fall madly in love.

But what is it that people say – that's the beauty of life, isn't it? How it can change everything in a split second. How it can sweep you off your feet when you least expect to, turn your world upside down and, before you know it, you're exactly that kind of person you never thought you could ever be, the kind of person that you never believed you could be. Well, sometimes, the changes aren't good. Sometimes the changes are hard and they can break you to pieces... But sometimes, if you're lucky enough, these changes are the best thing that could ever happen to you...

"No... No... No... No... Hmm– maybe..."

_Sir, is there anything I could–_

"Nope, Jarvis. I've got this under control."

Now that was a big fat lie and even Tony knew it. But just because he did know that he had nothing under control, it didn't mean he would admit so. Oh, definitely not. In fact, that would be the last thing he would do; not because he didn't want anyone to know, but because he wanted to do this himself. All of it, even though he'd been going through this in his head for the past week or so and he couldn't quite figure out how to do it.

"Just let me know if someone approaches," he added as he continued to browse aimlessly the internet in hopes that he would find something that would grant him an idea...

No. Not _an_ idea. Tony needed _the_ idea. It was the single most important date of the year and yet, his brain couldn't come up with any thoughts that were up to the standards... _And it's so damn frustrating,_ Tony thought.

Leaning back in his chair, he brought his hands to his face and sighed loudly. Why couldn't he think of anything to do? Why? He didn't want it to be a disappointment...

_Sir, Miss Potts is coming._

"Oh, god… okay," he muttered as he rushed to turn the screens off and try to look less inconspicuous as the ginger woman walked into his room.

"Miss Potts," he greeted as she sauntered towards his work station. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The ginger woman's lips arched up in a small smile as she set the folders she'd been carrying on Tony's desk.

"I just thought you'd like to see the reports of the meeting that you failed to attend this evening at the office of your own company," she said in a rather soft tone.

A few months after the battle that took place in Manhattan against Thor's brother, Loki, and his Chitauri army, Tony and Potts had a conversation about the Stark Industries and they reached an agreement that, since Tony had become a member of the Avengers Initiative (despite of him being volatile, self-obsessed and don't play well with others), it was necessary that someone responsible, trustworthy, loyal and, most importantly, someone who wasn't too prone to get themselves in trouble and wouldn't be called for some mission abroad or whatever it was that the S.H.I.E.L.D. would name it. Pepper had a few names in mind for the job, but Tony had only one. Somehow Pepper Potts had agreed to take her former job back and once again become the CEO of Stark Industries.

"Was it today?" Tony asked as he stood from the chair he'd been sitting and walked over to a mini-bar he had installed on the west side of his workplace. "I thought you had rescheduled it..."

"I did," Pepper replied as she followed him with her eyes only. "It was supposed to be last week, but since you were... absent, I rescheduled it for today."

"Oh, bummer... Can I get you anything?" he asked as he shuffled through the contents of the fridge. "Water? Soda? Uh... what is this... chlorophyll juice?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Pepper gently declined.

As she waited for Tony to return, Pepper let his eyes travel around the room. She had been there countless times before and while the place had never changed, it often had something different. It could be some new frame on the wall, or some other armour that Tony was working on, she even saw three new cars once, even though she didn't know when Tony bought them... Either way, whenever she descended the stairs and walked through the glass doors, there was always something that she hadn't seen before...

This time, she saw a few new frames hanging on the wall; they were just unfinished sketches of New York's landscape but they were quite beautiful and she couldn't help but thing that they did fit in that place. Finally, Pepper glanced at Tony's desk, her eyes ended up lingering on the spot the man had been sitting just moments ago and it was there that something caught her attention.

Lying there, right in front of one of the many screens that Tony had on the rather large computer desk, was a necklace. Or at least that's what Pepper thought it was, until she looked at it more carefully.

A conspicuous smile made its way to her lips as she turned to face the man that was making his way back to where she was standing.

"So," he said casually as he sipped from a bottle of water. "What was the big meeting about?"

"Nothing that we can't discuss later," she replied casually as she picked up the folders and smiled at him.

Pepper was about to turn on her heels and walk right out of the room once more when she heard Tony's voice.

"Wait!" With a few strides, he stood in front of the ginger. "Later? Why? This isn't like you," he said frowning. "What's going on?"

"I already told you. Nothing that can't wait... How about next Thursday? Is that okay with you? Or would you like me to call you sometime next week?"

Tony's eyebrows furrowed together and the dubious look in his face just became more noticeable. "Is that– okay, something is wrong and you're not saying. What are you not saying? And why are you taking those with you? Pepper..."

Despite Tony's inquiry and his suspicious, the ginger's smile never faded one bit. If anything, it only grew as he kept on talking.

"Believe me," she said, her cheeks almost hurting now. "Nothing is wrong, I'm not keeping anything from you and I'm taking these back because you have plans for the weekend..."

Tony had opened his mouth to protest when those last words hit him. "Plans for the weekend? What makes you think..."

But, before he could finish his question, Pepper simply stared at him before looking back at his desk. "I've heard Switzerland is particularly charming this time of the year," she said, not even bothering trying to feign nonchalance as she looked back at the dark haired man. "And a little bird chirped on my ears that a certain Captain had been wanting to try a Swiss dish of melted cheese for quite a long time now... Special place, special occasion."

Stark's face fell. _How did she know?_ He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. She was Pepper Potts, of course she knew. That and the fact that Steve's dog tags were lying on his desk, displayed for anyone that wanted to see it.

It wasn't as if Tony had been meaning to hide his relationship with Steve Rogers. Hide it from who? Pretty much everyone knew that they were seeing each other for the last three months, so hiding was definitely not what had caused Stark to go stunned. He was dumbfounded because she _knew_.

It's been a little over a year ever since Steve was reanimated after spending an eternity frozen and Tony wanted to make something different for the Captain. Something special. Because the day he was brought back to life was kind of a big deal to Tony. Maybe he didn't talk about that all that much, but it was a special date. The day that his special someone came into his life.

Granted they had quite the rough start and they bickered pretty much all the time, but that was who they were, that was that brought them together. It was their special something. People just usually remembered Steve's birthday which, by the way, was pretty hard to miss it being on the 4th of July... but that date? Not many people remembered. Clearly Pepper wasn't one of those many people.

Speaking of Pepper, Tony was suddenly pulled out of his trance when he heard the ginger's voice coming from somewhere far from him.

"I'll make sure to call you next week," she shouted from the door.

Blinking a couple of times, Tony turned his head so he was looking at the tall, slender woman and saw her wide smile showing. "Have fun, Tony."

#

"Tony, where are we going?"

It was the fifth time, in the last two hours, that Steve asked that same question. And for the fifth time, the answer he got was just the same: "That, my dear, is for me to know and for you to stop asking because I am not saying. So, for the last time, sit back and relax... We're far from our destiny."

Steve didn't even bother to fight the urge to roll his eyes at the dark haired man before him. If anything, he made sure to exaggerate his demeanours as he did so, which only made Tony's smile grow bigger.

It was early on a Saturday and Tony had basically dragged Steve out of bed at four in the morning and took him to the airport where they just boarded on Tony's plane that was ready to take off. Four in the morning! Why would Tony be up at four in the morning and why was he so... cheerful? He was never up that early and he was never that happy in the morning. In fact, Tony Stark was not a morning person. And where the hell were they going?! It wasn't as if they didn't have other things to do... well, Steve didn't really have all that much to do, but Tony had to meet with Pepper to discuss their idea of a society with some other company, so why were they getting on an airplane?

However, after a while, Steve just gave up. He knew he would never squeeze an answer out of Tony since the latter had already decided he wanted to make a surprise of whatever it was that was about to happen, so Steve decided to do as Tony said, so he sat back and enjoyed... And, eventually, he fell asleep.

.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty."

The low, soft, grave voice of Tony Stark whispering against his ear made Steve stir.

The blonde man was having a rather pleasant dream with said dark haired individual, but that voice combined with the tickling of Tony's breath on the base of his neck made him part his eyelids open and he slowly turned his head to his left.

"We're here..."

Tony's face was just mere centimeters away from Steve's. His melted dark chocolate eyes were looking at him intently and his luscious lips were showing an oh so beautiful smile that Steve had a very hard time thinking. He was a bit sleepy and there was that glorious view right in front of him... But after a couple of seconds (maybe a little more), his mind started to separate what was real and what had been a dream.

Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, Steve found Tony's gaze once more and asked, "Where are we?"

The wide smile fell off Stark's face and the dark haired man let out a sigh. "You really won't let go, are you?" Tony asked, slightly frustrated.

"Not really," Steve replied as he shifted in his seat and brought his hands to rub the back of his neck. He had fallen asleep on a not so comfortable position and now his neck was aching.

"Okay," Tony said softly when he noticed Steve's face twisting as he rubbed his neck and shoulders. He reached out and grabbed Steve's hands and pulled the man from his seat. "Get up, get out and maybe, later, I'll get you a massage."

"Tony, where–"

"Out," Tony interjected, nearly pushing Steve through the small corridor of the airplane. "I want you to see it for yourself."

With a soft sigh, Steve threw her head back and allowed Tony to not-so-gently escort him to the nearest exit.

In all honesty, Steve didn't know what he expected to see or if he expected anything in the first place. He knew Tony enough to know that the man beneath the Iron Man's mask was everything but ordinary and simple; he'd witnessed on numerous occasions what a Stark, not only Tony but his father as well, was capable of. A very great example of such thing was the Stark Expo. It looked like grandeur was something that was encrusted into the Stark's DNA… Even though Steve was convinced of such thing, his eyes widened and his mouth hang open.

"Switzerland?" He asked, looking over his shoulder to find Tony's eyes looking at him. There was a sparkle of joy in those beautiful brown eyes.

"Off you go," Tony said. His smile never faded one bit, if anything, it only grew bigger.

Steve wanted to argue with that order. He wanted to ask what was he thinking when he flew them over three thousand miles away from home, or why on Earth were they there, but he ended up just grunting and leaving the airplane once and for all. Tony seemed to be a man with a plan and he was too happy about that whole thing that Steve decided to just play along, regardless of where it would lead them to.

"Okay," he said when he finally stepped on solid ground. Even though Steve's watch was telling him it was barely one p.m., it was nearly six p.m. in Switzerland, meaning jet leg was bound to hit him like a brick wall if Stark had any schedule. "You really should've told me, you know?" Steve told Tony when the man stood right next to him. "That we were coming to Switzerland… then I wouldn't have slept the entire flight and I would be able to adjust to the difference on the time zon–"

"Don't worry about that," Tony said reassuring as he looked around. "Oh, there it is! Come on," he placed a hand on Steve's back and flashed him a bright smile. "It's freezing out here… and we still have to drive a little over a hundred kilometers."

Once again, Steve rolled his eyes, but did as Tony said and followed the man as they walked towards a utilitarian vehicle that was parked a few meters from where they were standing.

It was a habit of Steve's; sometimes, a bad habit of his to be frank. He couldn't say no to Tony. Not when he was like that. All smiles and mysterious… he was practically glowing and it had nothing to do with the reactor that was encrusted in to the man's chest. So, trying to feign some annoyance, Steve indulged once more. He would do pretty much anything that Tony asked or suggested at that point.

.

"Will you ever tell me what is this all about?" Steve asked as they drove through a rather deserted road.

As usual, Tony was the one driving (and following instructions from a GPS that, obviously, had Jarvis's voice) and he was just sitting there, staring at the scenery. He didn't mind though. Steve was perfectly fine with just sitting there, his eyes focused on the astounding view outside; that way he could either make some sketches or to just let his left hand rest against Tony's right thigh.

"We're celebrating," Tony replied as he looked at the man sitting next to him.

As soon as he heard Tony's words, Steve turned to face him. He wasn't exactly expecting to have an answer that easily when Tony had made him wait until they arrived in Zurich to tell him where they were going. Technically, he didn't answer Steve's question, but that was beside the point.

"Celebrating?" He echoed Tony's words curiously.

"Yep."

"And can I ask what exactly are we celebrating?"

Tony looked at Steve's blue eyes for a brief moment before he turned his attention back to the road. "Why do we need a reason for every single thing that we do?"

Steve thought about that for a moment. He really didn't have an answer to that. He often asked that question and he never had a good answer. "Fair enough," he acquiesced.

But even though Steve had kind of given up, Tony could sense that the blonde man wasn't exactly happy with his answer. Of course he wasn't. Captain America had a soft spot – well, in fact, he had quite a few soft spots, but Steve Rogers was a curious cat.

"Life," Tony said after a handful of seconds. His right hand left the steering wheel and he placed it over Steve's. "We are celebrating life, Captain."

Looking away from the window, Steve's eyes landed on their hands and then, they focused on Tony's warm brown eyes.

"Are you feeling well?" Steve asked. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, but the smallest of all smiles was playing on his face.

It was Tony's turn to roll his eyes at Steve. "Here I am, trying to be charming and all only so you can go and just blow it. You hurt my feelings," he muttered as he averted his eyes.

Tony's hand left Steve's and he was halfway to grab the steering wheel once more when Steve stopped him. He took Tony's hands in his and interlinked their fingers together.

"I'm sorry," he said, but judging by the look on Tony's face, he wasn't buying it. But then again, Steve was smiling. "I really am sorry. I didn't mean to do that and I love it when you're charming."

The two of them shared a look, and even if Tony was truthfully hurt (which, by the way, he wasn't really), he couldn't resist those pleading bright blue eyes and that slightly messy blonde hair and that smile… yeah, he could definitely not resist that smile.

.

"Honey, I'm home."

After over eight hours flying and about one and a half hour in a car, they finally arrived to their destination, and Steve found himself stepping into a fancy but very cozy two-storey house in the Swiss Alps. He had never been there before but had seen pictures of that living room, featuring a much younger Tony Stark and marshmallows being roasted on the fireplace.

"What? No Jarvis?" the blonde asked when no mechanical voice responded to Tony.

"Nope. No Jarvis," Tony replied as he entered the house carrying a rather big suitcase. "In fact, no no one except the two of us, so, care to help? I left the car open."

"I get the baggage and you lock the car," Steve promptly said as he took the luggage from Tony's hand. He was heading towards the stairs when he heard Stark shouting: "IT'S THE DOOR AT THE END OF THE CORRIDOR"

"You don't need to yell," Steve said, looking over his shoulder. "I'm right here."

"I know. Force of habit, sorry."

Shaking his head, Steve climbed the stairs, one step at a time until he reached the second floor of the house.

Much like the first floor, the second floor was classically decorated; it looked like a woman had taken care of that place. _Probably Tony's mother,_ Steve thought to himself as walked slowly down the corridor.

There were paintings on the walls, along with a few photographs. It was all a bit dusty but that didn't lessen the beauty of them. But, the one painting that caught Steve's eyes and his entire attention was a big replica of Van Gogh's "Starry Night Over the Rhone" that sit on the wall right opposite to the master bedroom door.

Steve placed the luggage on the edge of the bed and walked over to examine the painting closely. Even though it wasn't the real painting, Steve knew how to appreciate the beauty of the art.

_The sky is aquamarine, the water is royal blue, the ground is mauve. The town is blue and purple. The gas is yellow and the reflections are russet gold descending down to green-bronze. On the aquamarine field of the sky the Great Bear is a sparkling green and pink, whose discreet paleness contrasts with the brutal gold of the gas. Two colourful figurines of lovers in the foreground._

Even now, Steve remembered everything about that painting. He didn't know why, since it wasn't exactly his favorite painting of all times, but he remembered from his old days. Maybe it was because he just liked the combinations of colours and how they added depth to the image, maybe it was because of the strokes of the paint-brush against the canvas seemed to effortless and yet it created that stunning piece of art or maybe it was something else entirely and Steve just thought it was a beautiful…

"My mother loved that painting."

Steve didn't know how long he sat there, just looking at Van Gogh's work, but he was slightly startled when he heard Tony's voice right behind him. Steve looked over his shoulder and found Tony leaning against the bed poster. There was something in his brown eyes that made Steve's heart flutter… Stark hardly ever talked about his mother, but whenever he did, he had this look in his eyes, a mix of longing and sadness that Steve knew all too well.

"It is an amazing painting," Steve said, his voice thick with his own feelings. He wanted to hold Tony tightly and just tell him that it was okay to miss people so much it hurt, but he didn't. The way Tony stood there, arms crossed across his chest and teeth clenched didn't let him.

For a few seconds, Tony didn't say anything. He just stood there, eyes fixed on the image. He hadn't gone to that house in a very long time and it surprised him how he felt just by being there. All the emotions that he'd been keeping inside, they seemed to gain strength now that he was there.

_Tony?_

It was Steve who had called him. He had seen the man's lips moving, forming all the letters of his nickname, but somehow, Tony heard his mother's voice. His mother's soft and angelical voice calling out for him, like the last time they've been there… it's been over thirty years.

"Tony? Are you all right?"

Blinking out of his reverie, Tony Stark found Steve's concerned blue eyes fixed on his. He was just inches from him and he could feel the warmth emanating from his body. Reaching out a hand, Tony placed it on Steve's chest right above his heart and the soft beating against his palm made Tony let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

That was the reason why he'd gone there. To celebrate life, wasn't that what he told Steve? They were there to celebrate life, and not anything else. Tony was sure that his mother would approve of that.

So, still without saying a word, Tony took Steve's hand in his, pulled the other man so they were flush against each other, slid an arm around Steve's waist and kissed him full on the lips.

The way Steve's body filled all the emptiness that Tony was feeling and how his lips molded perfectly to his and how were more than enough to brush all the sadness aside. All he could think of was Steve and how grateful he was that the man was there. With him.

When breathing became an urgent need, their lips parted, thought their foreheads rested together.

"The reason why I brought you here," Tony said after a moment or two, when his breathing had calmed down enough. "Is because of life…"

Steve wasn't exactly following; his brain was still slightly foggy because of their making out session but he listened carefully. At first, he thought they were there because of his parents, like an anniversary or something like that, but when he spoke again, it truly rendered Steve speechless.

"You have been frozen in a big block of ice and about a year ago you came back to life, that's…" Tony found himself hesitating. Taking a deep breath, he looked up and found Steve's eyes focused on him. "I know I'm not one to profess my undying love on a daily basis, but… I wanted to let you know that I'm happy that you're here. I'm happy that you're here _now_. _You_ make me happy…"

Steve inhaled deeply. It wasn't as if he didn't think that Tony wasn't capable of expressing his feelings; actually, Steve thought Tony knew how to do that without using the words that people said sometimes way too much. It was the little things he did that showed Steve how Tony felt. Like when he would call him in the middle of the afternoon when he was busy with work or when he wouldn't let Steve get out of bed before nine in the morning of a Sunday, saying they were supposed to sleep in and would wrap his arms tightly around his waist and place soft kisses to his neck until he gave up and just lay there with him, or when he would cook him his specialty – blueberry pancakes – for a special dinner (although the whole 'dinner' thing was debatable). In essence, Steve knew how Tony felt about them. And he knew how he felt about them as well.

A wide smile made its way to Steve's lips as he looked deep in those eyes. Those inviting brown eyes that Steve wouldn't mind getting lost in them for the rest of his days.

"You make me the happiest I've ever been," he said softly before his lips claimed Tony's once more and his hands made their way into Tony's hair.

Steve knew Tony like the back of his hands, but he took his time to make sure he would never forget him. He memorized the softness of his hair and the lingering sent of his cologne that invaded his mind and numbed his senses; he burned into his memory the feel of Tony's gentle lips against his and his demanding tongue and how it battled for dominance; he wanted to freeze that moment so he could go back to it when he was alone only so he could remember the strength and kindles of Tony's hands holding, grasping, scratching his back like he was the only thing that was keeping him from floating and not gravity. Tony made him the happiest he had ever been, and Steve wanted that to last for as long as he was living and breathing. Speaking of breathing…

"Okay," Tony said as he reluctantly pulled away from Steve, though his hands never left the blonde's hips. "I hope you don't get me wrong because I would love to keep doing this until the end of times… but I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

"Actually, I'm starving," Steve replied.

"Great! Fondue?"


End file.
